Thursday, February 10, 2011

Aretha Franklin to Get All-Star Grammy Salute

There is only one Queen of Soul, but it takes a chorus of artists to celebrate her.

"As a "valentine" to Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Grammy Legend Award recipient Aretha Franklin, four-time Grammy winner Yolanda Adams, four-time Grammy winner and Latin Grammy winner Christina Aguilera, Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson, country superstar Martina McBride, and current nominee Florence Welch will join together on the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in celebration of the 18-time Grammy winner and current nominee's music and ongoing legacy," the Recording Academy said in an announcement Wednesday.

The salute, to take place at the start of the program, will feature individual and collective renditions of some of Franklin's classics – though Franklin, 68, is not expected to attend Sunday night's event, presumably due to her recent, undisclosed health problems. According to her rep, she'll be at home in Detroit watching with her friends and family.

The tribute will be among several performances set to take place at the Grammys, by such artists as Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jaden Smith, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and, in his live Grammy performance debut, Mick Jagger.

On Tuesday, the Academy also announced that best traditional pop vocal album nominee (for her Love Is the Answer) Barbra Streisand would also perform, introduced by her long-ago A Star Is Born costar, Kris Kristofferson.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Februart 13th at Los Angeles's Staples Center and air live on CBS starting at 8:00 pm (ET).

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